Liquor and Spirits

Rose Canyon Margarita at Rose Canyon Cantina, Our Drink of the Week!

The Rose Canyon Cantina, tucked away behind the last gasps of all-look-same inland South County in its own oak-lined dell, is the least likely place in the county to find a real, honest-to-God, Jalisco-style margarita. Most of the patrons are drinking tequila-tinged swill with bottled margarita mix ... More >>

William Grant & Sons and Young's Market Company Celebrate 125 Years With Rare Glenfiddich

In 1887, William Grant founded an independent, family-owned distiller in the United Kingdom. However, it wasn't until 1963 that United States markets were able to purchase their Single Malt Scotch whisky. After 125 years in the industry, William Grant & Sons wished to commemorate the milestone with ... More >>

Tequila Fortaleza, Our Drink of the Week!

Nearly all of the distilled liquor in the world comes from three sources: sugarcane (rum, cachaça, caña), grain (wheat, rice, corn, rye) and potatoes (some vodka). They're not tied to a sense of place: there is rum from Mauritius and rum from Jamaica, there's whiskey from Scotland and whiskey from ... More >>

The World's Best Guide to Buying Tequila That Doesn't Suck

I'm a liquor store yenta. That's right; if I see you picking up one of those neon green bottles of margarita mix, or God forbid the bilious-looking piss-yellow bottle with the Cuervo garbage already mixed in, I will come over and strike up and awkward conversation in which I try to convince you to b ... More >>

The World Uses 700 mL Liquor Bottles. White House Petition Aims To Allow Their Import

I was bemoaning the state of cachaça with fellow Weekling Bill Esparza last week as we sipped from a bootlegged two-liter Coke bottle of cachaça de alambique, straight from the still. Sure, we can get the run-of-the-mill stuff like Ypioca and 51, and on my peregrinations to New Jersey and Massachu ... More >>

Viñedos Malagón: When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Limoncello

The village of Francisco Zarco, the largest settlement in the Valle de Guadalupe, sits at the junction of Federal Highway 3 and the paved road leading to La Misión. It's a hive of activity at certain times of day; outdoor chicken grills line the main boulevard, and people drive up and down from sho ... More >>

Leyva's Liquors: Always, Always Your Last Stop Before Heading for the Border

Three weeks ago, Bill gave what may be the world's first quasi-comprehensive guide to the vendors swirling around the mass fustercluck known as the northbound border crossing at San Ysidro; it's only quasi-comprehensive because the vendors change occasionally.Today, Tijuana Sí! covers what should a ... More >>

Collier and McKeel Tennessee Whiskey, Our Drink of the Week!

Kids: let me tell you about the most magical food festival of them all--not some overplayed clustertruck, but the Southern Foodways Alliance's annual symposium in Oxford, Mississippi. The SFA, of course, is an awesome organization devoted to celebrating and documenting Southern food, and their sympo ... More >>

LTB at Three Seventy Common, Our Drink of the Week!

Question: How do you drink hard cider without looking like an Birmingham ASBO boy or a girl at her 21st birthday party? It's not exactly a reputation-making drink, though the cider made with our local apples stands up well against anything to come out of Washington, Michigan, or New York.Answer: You ... More >>

Diatribe With Dave: The Rise of Ryes

Every second and fourth Wednesday night of the month, legendary bartender/chef/restaurant insider Dave Mau hosts Dinner with Dave at Memphis at the Santora, where he treats drinkers to a free meal and live music as the evening progresses. To remind ustedes of this great night, Dave treats us ev ... More >>

Mellow Corn Corn Whiskey, Our Drink of the Week!

For the past month, I've been swimming in the bourbon, moonshine, and corn whiskey that I brought back from Kentucky and Tennessee after participating in August's World's Longest Yard Sale event along Highway 127. Every year that I go, I seek out the rarest brands, to see how good our local booze em ... More >>

Barely Legal Summer!

[Summer Guide 2012] Our guide to living this sultry season on the right (and wrong) side of the law

How to Make Real Absinthe

[Summer Guide 2012] Make, then drink the real stuff!

The Orange County Bartenders Cabinet Shake It Up

The group of county libation crafters is teaching you to drink as you've never drunk before

Trace Element at TAPS Fish House & Brewery, Our Drink of the Week!

​TAPS in Brea? Of course. One of the few places populated mostly by the hoi polloi--crammed with them, really--that actually impresses with their offerings, whether it's perfectly barbecued oysters, Cajun-style taquitos dating back to the late 1990s but whose charms remain eternal, award-winning b ... More >>

Napalm Death at Casanova, Our Drink of the Week!

Photo by Meranda Carter​Scotland ... where the men wear kilts and the sheep are nervous. Home of the world's greatest Scotches, one of them being Drambuie that figures in over 100 drink recipes, including Kiltlifter, Ball Bag, Sexaholic, Felcher (after a sexual practice we are not ... More >>

Five Things You Didn't Know About Bourbon

Flickr user spenceke​September is National Bourbon Month. As the weather cools off (OK, everywhere except Southern California), it's a good time to consider one of the finest drinks made in America. Uncork a bottle, pour a little into a snifter, add a little pour of cool spring water, and lean bac ... More >>

Wild Turkey Rare Breed, Our Drink of the Week

​The Wild Turkey distillery tour in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky isn't the most popular on the Bluegrass State's Bourbon Trail--that would be the Maker's Mark one--or the most-thorough--that honor goes to Woodford Reserve--but in many ways, it's the best. It's absolutely down-home, starting with a docum ... More >>

Peligroso Tequila Silver 42, Our Drink of the Week!

A typical morning at Weekly world headquarters...​If you glance at a bottle of Peligroso tequila and are a way-too-politically-conscious pendejo like me, you'll want to immediately protest. The name, drawing on centuries of gabacho stereotypes about the inherent danger of Mexicans and tequila. The ... More >>

Drink of the Week: Platte Valley Corn Whiskey

Cue...um, whatever bluegrass song might apply to Missoura...​The chica and I just came back from a two-week road trip that took us to the World's Longest Yard Sale, a hundreds-of-miles extravaganza of antiques, food, and rolling hills that I'll detail at length next week. We only did the stretch o ... More >>

Drink of the Week: Ventura Limoncello

Dave Lieberman​Ventura County produces more lemons than any other county in the United States. A drive inland along Highway 150 from Santa Barbara to Santa Paula goes past thousands of acres of lemon trees, but limoncello, the lemon liqueur that's on every bar shelf in Italy, was never produced lo ... More >>

Drink of the Week: DonQ Cristal Rum

Disregard Confederate Calvin, por favor...​Mexicans drink tequila, mezcal, sotol, pulque, beer, brandy, whiskey, more beer . . . you get the picture. But rum? Maybe in the Gulf of Mexico region, but the only sugarcane-based alcohol the wabs I know like are charanda (all those damn michoacanos) and ... More >>

Homemade Grappa: Don't Tell the ABC

Rows of homemade grappa in a bar in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.​Grappa. Just the word sends waves of warmth down the esophagus.Grappa is brandy distilled from pomace--the solids left over during the wine-making process; the stems and pips and skins and pressed pulp. The French call this leftover gun ... More >>

Yuzu Blossom at 320 Main, Our Drink of the Week

Tobin Sharp​This week's adventure found me at the popular Seal Beach watering hole, 320 Main, a place where the mixologists take the creation of cocktails very seriously.

Drink of the Week: San Clemente Cosmo

Brandon Ferguson​Oftentimes when a bar creates a new alcoholic concoction, something goes horribly awry: either overzealous bartenders blend flavors that just don't work well together (think mint leaves and any number of boozes), or they overdo it with the sugary liquids and create a nasty franken ... More >>

Drunk After Work: Cucina Alessa

Edwin GoeiThe Place: Cucina Alessa, 520 Main St., Huntington Beach, (714) 969-2148; www.cucinaalessa.com. The Hours: Mon.-Thurs., 3-6 p.m. & 9-10 p.m.; Fri., 3-6 p.m. & 9-11 p.m.; Sat., 9-11 p.m.; Sun., 9-10 p.m.The Deal: $4 antipasti. $6 pizza marghertia or beef carpaccio. $3 draft ( ... More >>

Where Good Apples Go When They Die: Baba au Calvados

Flickr user jo-h​If you're a regular reader of Fork, you've probably noticed I haven't been around much lately. This is because I am stuffing myself silly doing research on regional French food and drink. While I love Paris, get out into the countryside and French food becomes more approachable, c ... More >>

Five Pretty Cocktails

Flickr user alpha du centaure​Oh, stop scoffing. We can see that face you're making: Ain't no shame in admiring a pretty drink every once in a while. While you'll usually find the cutesy cocktails with the cutesy garnish at things like bridal showers, outdoor wedding receptions, beach-side resorts ... More >>

Strawberry Basil & Kick-Ass Margaritas at Tia Juana's

Jessica Ford Strawberry Basil Margarita​It's time to encourage double-fisting for our Drink of the Week. Tia Juana's in Irvine makes two specialty margaritas that stand out from the rest: the Strawberry Basil and the Kick-Ass. Of course you can choose to have just one, but if ... More >>

Menagetini at K'ya Street Fare

Jessica Ford ​The menu at K'ya Street Fare in Anaheim features dishes you'd find from street carts around the world, but the cocktails are far from something you would be able to find on the street. The restaurant is located inside Hotel Menage and the signature drink is the Menagetini--a co ... More >>

Is Hennessy Making Up Mexican History to Boost Cognac Sales?

Not the bottle in question...​Got to the office late Wednesday, and greeting me was a bottle of Hennessy cognac. Curious, I saw a press release attached to the box that contained the bottle and immediately became bewildered--and not just because I started pouring that sweet nectar down my gulle ... More >>

LA Water Cocktail

Jorge Negreros​When it comes to the battle of OC versus LA, at least we don't have a cocktail named after our murky drinking water. 

Fourth of July Cocktails

Cherry Bomb​Celebrating Independence Day comes down to three simple things: fireworks, barbecues and booze. And since I can only help you with the last one, continue on for two Fourth of July-inspired cocktail recipes.

Scooby Snack at Garf's Sports Lounge

Jorge Negreros​From the outside, Garf's Sports Lounge looks like just another hole-in-the-wall bar next to a gas station, but it's surprisingly large and full of people looking to grab some dinner and drinks after work. It's the place where locals come to watch the game, play some pool an ... More >>

Brain Hemorrhage at The District

Jessica Ford​If you are not ordering from a seasoned bartender, a Brain Hemorrhage is another one of those shooters whose name will earn you a funny look. It's not ordered often--for good reason, since it takes skills to make it correctly. It's all about presentation-- ... More >>

Buttery Nipple at O'Malley's On Main

Jessica Ford​First, get your mind out of the gutter--it is not that kind of buttery nipple. Second, almost every bartender knows (or should know) how to make this, but if they don't, be prepared to be met with a long, awkward stare and the question, "You want two . . . what?"

Dessert of the Week: Bad Girl at Crepe Maker

Jessica Ford Bad Girl Crepe: tastes better than this looks...​The Crepe Maker is about as French as you can get in the Irvine Spectrum--Orange Countians feasting upon French crepes served by a staff (noticeably not French), next to a picture of the Eiffel Tower while French music plays in ... More >>

Drink of the Week: Chocolate Candy Cane at Montage

Jessica Ford Chocolate Candy Cane​Montage in Laguna Beach is one of the swankiest hotels in the area, but you get your money's worth when it comes to drinks at the Lobby Lounge. After you valet park your BMW or Mercedes (whichever), pass through the initial entrance of the hotel and you ... More >>

Karaoke with Tom Terrific

Calling All Loquat Tree Owners!

Ernest Miller is a cook at the Disneyland Resort who also blogs at Culinary Safaris and is enrolled alongside my chica in the Master Food Preserver that has me going to San Bernardino more times than any non-909er should ever have to. He has an interesting request for SAFII readers: anyone has loqua ... More >>

Check Out My Package

It's pretty well-known that I'll go almost anywhere I'm invited if there's free food and booze, but some invites make more sense than others. Movie premieres, I understand. Art gallery openings, sure. But a meeting held by a package tour company to pitch their getaways to local travel agents? I mean ... More >>

Skunk As a Drunk

How to stay hammered until 2007

This Week in Great Scot Whisky

Whisky Tasting on the Queen Mary

Captain Bombay's

M

Summer Eats (Drinks)

Trawling for Tinis

The Island of Lost Drinks

Rage Among the Weight Machines

Summer Beach & Beer Guide